Retainer for collapsible handle for a carrying case



Nov. 25, 1969 M. szABo 3,479,702

RETAINER FOR COLLAPSIBLE HANDLE FOR A CARRYING CASE Filed March 20, 1968INVENTOR MARTON SZABO ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,479,702 RETAINERFOR COLLAPSIBLE HANDLE FOR A CARRYING CASE Marton Szabo, Broomall, Pa.,assignor to Philadelphia Handle Company, Inc., Camden, N.J., acorporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 714,710 Int. Cl.A45c 13/26 US. CI. 2473 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Handleretainers each including a screw for attachment to a carrying case andhaving a shoulder adjacent its upper end, and a substantially L-shapedmember having a horizontal portion which is secured to the upper end ofthe screw and bears against its shoulder, the vertical portion of themember being bent over the horizontal portion to form a curved femalehinge member to rotatably receive the link associated with the end of acarrying handle.

This invention relates to a means to hingedly attach the ends of ahandle to a carrying case such as a portable television set, radio,electronic test equipment, and the like. More particularly the inventionrelates to the retainer which attaches to the wall of the carrying caseand journals or hingedly receives the links carried at the ends of thehandle.

Heretofore, the links, rings or equivalent members carried at the endsof a collapsible elongated handle included generally horizontaltransversely extending male members which were journaled for rotationinside the arcuate portion of a retainer, which retainer also included alaterally extending flat portion that was attached to the case wall by asuitable screw, rivet or the like. Such retainers had the disadvantageof being unattractive because the head of the attaching screw or rivetshowed out in the raised position of the handle and frequently even inthe collapsed position.

The primary object of this invention is to provide handle retainers eachwith an arcuate female hinge memher to rotatably receive the linkcarried by the handle which overcome the disadvantage noted above. Theinstant retainer eliminates the need for the laterally extending fiatportion and the screw or rivet to attach the lateral portion to the casewall.

Another object of the invention is to provide a handle retainer of thecharacter described which includes an arcuate female hinge member andmeans attaching it to a case wherein the retainer serves as an effectiveload bearing member while the attaching means remains concealed both inthe raised and collapsed position of the handle.

Another object is to provide an economical and efficient method ofmaking handle retainers with concealed attachment means.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent asthe following description proceeds in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a group perspective view of one form of the retainerillustrating the first step in the method of making the same;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the invention of FIG. 1 showing thesecond step in the method of making it;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the third step in the making of theinvention of FIG. 1 and the manner of captivating the link at the end ofa collapsible handle;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a collapsible handle shown attached to awall of a carrying case with the retainer of FIG. 1; and

3,479,702 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of amodified form of the invention.

Specific reference is now made to the drawings in which similarreference characters are used for corresponding elements throughout.

Indicated generally at 10 is a conventional handgrip which may be madeof any number of materials such as plastic, leather, leather orplastic-clad cores, metal, etc. Adjacent its ends, the undersurface ofthe handgrip may be provided with longitudinally extending slots 12which open through the sides of the handgrip. While a handgrip ofparticular shape and style is shown it will be understood that any shapeand style of handgrip may be employed and the slots 12 may be formedintegrally therewith or in any other manner.

To be collapsible, links 14 are provided one end of each of which isslidably engaged in the slots 12 and the other end is rotatably attachedto a retainer 16. The preferred links are rings each having an uppertransverse portion 18 which extends laterally through the slot 12, apair of longitudinal portions 20 and a lower transverse portion 22.

As seen in FIGS. 1-4, the retainer comprises a threaded member or screw24 of predetermined diameter having a body portion 25 and an upperportion 26, preferably unthreaded or smooth and of lesser diameter thanthe body portion 25 and separated therefrom by a shoulder which extendsinwardly or outwardly of the body portion 25. In this form of theinvention the shoulder is in the form of an integral, preferably squareor rectangular head 28 whose peripheral edge extends beyond the diameterof the body portion 25 of the member 24, the head including at least anupper bearing face 29 which extends diametrically of the axis of themember 24.

An L-shaped lug or member 30 is provided having a horizontally extendingportion 32 with a hole 34 therethrough and a vertically extendingportion 36. The upper portion 26 is passed through the hole 34, which isslightly larger in diameter than the upper portion 26, and when held inan appropriate jig, the free end of the upper portion 26 is peened orspread to form a head 38, the free end of the portion 26 beingcountersunk as at to assist the peening or heading operation. In thismanner the horizontal portion 32 of the member 30 is made captive andfixed between the head 38 and bearing face 29 of the shoulder 28.

Thereafter the lower transverse portion 22 of the link 14 is placed overthe head 38 and across the horizontally extending portion 32 and thenthe vertically extending portion 36 is bent around until its transversefree edge 42 lies adjacent the transverse free edge 44 of the horizontalportion 32 to thereby form an arcuate portion 46. Thus what is formed ineffect is the arcuate female member of a hinge which captivates the malemember 22 of the link 14 and rotatably journals it to complete the hingeconnection.

In the final assembly, the threaded body portions 25 of the retainers 16with the portions 22 of the links 24 received in the female hinge 46,are extended through appropriate square or rectangular holes in a wall48 of a carrying case until the portions 32 bear against the outer faceof the wall and then lock nuts 50 are threaded on the body portions 25to secure the retainers tightly in place, the engagement of theshoulders 28 in the square holes acting to resist rotation while thelock nuts are screwed home. Thus it will be seen that in its final formeach retainer is a relatively small, attractive member with concealedattaching means.

The form of retainer shown in FIG. 5 differs from that shown in FIGS.1-4 in that the threaded body portion 52 is separated from the upperportion 54 by a shoulder 56 which extends inwardly of the body portion52 rather than beyond the diameter of the threaded body portion 52. Thusthe shoulder 56 is in effect a single bearing face which extendsdiametrically of the axis of the member 52 and when the horizontalportion 32 of the member 30 is secured on the member 52 it is captivatedbetween the shoulder 56 and the head formed at the free end of the upperportion 54. Thus in final assembly on the case, the horizontal members32 will again bear against the outer face of the case wall.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been here shown anddescribed, it will be understood that skilled artisans may make minorvariations without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. Retainers for hingedly attaching a collapsible handle to a carryingcase, each including a threaded member having a body portion and anupper portion separated by a shoulder, said body portion of saidthreaded member adapted to extend through a carrying case wall and besecured thereto by a nut, a female hinge member having a horizontalportion with a hole therein through which said upper portion extends,said upper portion having a head coacting with said shoulder of saidthreaded member to captivate and secure said horizontal portion, saidfemale hinge member further including a generally vertical arcuateportion bent around said head and over said horizontal portion andadapted to rotatably receive a link carried by a handle.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said shoulder extends inwardly ofsaid threaded member.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said shoulder extends outwardly ofsaid threaded member.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said upper portion is unthreadedand of reduced diameter.

5. A method of making a retainer for hingedly attaching a collapsiblehandle to a carrying case comprised of providing a threaded member withan upper portion separated from its body portion by a shoulder,providing a substantially L-shaped member whose horizontal portionincludes a hole, extending the upper portion of the threaded memberthrough the hole until the shoulder abuts the horizontal portion,applying a force to the free end of the upper portion of the threadedmember sufficient to form a head so that the horizontal portion iscaptivated and secured between the shoulder and the head thus formed,and bending the vertical portion of the L-shaped member over the headand around the horizontal portion to form the female portion of thehinge adapted to rotatably receive the male portion of a link carried bya handle.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 536,978 4/ 1955 Belgium. 566,979 11/1923 France. 812,919 2/1937 France.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 58

